Remains of Iowan missing since WWII found
The remains of a gunnery instructor from Sioux City who disappeared during a training flight over New Guinea during World War II have been found.
Staff Sgt. Walter Knudsen, 21, disappeared along with a crew of eight on Oct. 9, 1944.
Earlier this year, his older brother, Harold Knudsen, a former Marine who lives in Park Rapids, Minn., was contacted by the Defense Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office. He said he was asked about his high school and a high school ring. His brother's class ring was used to identify his remains.
Harold Knudsen said his brother graduated from Central High School on June 5, 1941 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was in New Guinea just 20 days when he disappeared, Knudsen said.
"He was like me in some respects," Harold Knudsen said. "He was very energetic and enthusiastic about being a gunnery instructor during World War II."
Knudsen and his family finally got the answers they were looking for during a July 30 briefing by military officials.
He learned his brother's crew took off on a training flight and likely crashed in the mountains of New Guinea because of fog. The plane was not shot down, Knudsen said.
Radio contact was never made with his brother and when the plane didn't arrive at its destination later that morning, a search for the plane began, but neither the plane nor the crew was found.
In Feb. 2002, a New Guinea villager found Walter Knudsen's dog tag in the dense tropical forest near the crash site. The villager returned the dog tag to the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, where officials contacted the Army.
Officials excavated the site near where the dog tag was found in 2003 and found the plane. The remains of Walter Knudsen and his crew were identified in May of this year.
"It was very surprising and very relieving to know they had found his remains," Harold said.
He said that when his brother's remains are returned for burial, they will be wrapped in a green, wool Army blanket. On top of the blanket will be a World War II uniform decorated with medals.
The family also will receive a book of photos from the crash site taken during the recovery effort.
Knudsen said his brother will be buried next to his mother in Memorial Park Cemetery. A full military funeral will be held in few months, he said.
© 2005, The Des Moines Register